Video Warns New Madrid Quake Could Catch Missouri Off Guard

As an earthquake nerd that lives in Missouri, I keep a close eye on activity along the New Madrid Seismic Zone in the southern part of the state. However, I tend to stay away from sensational predictions or analysis. There is a new video with a apocalyptic title, but it brings up a valid point about how prepared (or not) Missouri is for a potential major quake.

I've just had this video from the Insane Curiosity YouTube channel come up in my recommended feed. They're not a small channel with more than 651,000 subscribers at the time of this writing. Their title is over-the-top "The Two Earthquakes That Will Shatter America", but within they bring up a teachable moment that all of us in Missouri should take to heart.

Aside from the almost hilarious "shatter America" reference, the one point that is valid that everyone in Missouri should pay attention to is the preparedness question. They assert that Missouri is not ready for a major New Madrid Fault event and they're not the only ones that believe that. Missouri is full of older, vulnerable buildings that would not survive a major quake. This region is also full of bridges that are key transportation portals which would likely be unusable for at least a few days if not weeks or months after a major quake since they would need to have structural checks done. Many of Missouri's utility power and water lines are also not expected to withstand a major southern Missouri quake.

It's fine to laugh at the outrageous "shatter America" predictions for an earthquake in the New Madrid Seismic Region, but take to heart the need to be better prepared. Those of us in Missouri will need to face that reality sooner or later.